the black woman who climbed the statue of liberty on july 4th was captured & arraigned

Over the “holiday”, New Yorkers and pretty much everyone else on the web saw activist Therese Okoumou, a Congolese immigrant, scale the side of the Statue Of Liberty this 4th of July. At the time what wasn’t known was that Okoumou’s breathtaking actions were in protest of the Trump Administrations inhumane immigration policies that have seen babies and families caged in ‘camps’. Okoumou, who lives in Staten Island, belongs to New York-based group Rise and Resist that was earlier arrested for hanging a large “Abolish I.C.E.” banner at the statue’s pedestal.

“No one in the group knew this was going to happen. We don’t know if she did it on the spur of the moment or if she had been planning it beforehand,” group member and organizer Jay Walker told The New York Daily News.

Rise and Resist is at the Statue of Liberty demanding Trump and the GOP #AbolishICE, reunite families now, halt deportations, and end detention as a deterrent. #EndFamilySeparation #AbolishCBP #FreeOurFuture #HereToStay

A post shared by Rise and Resist (@risenresistnyc) on Jul 4, 2018 at 11:32am PDT

At last update, Okoumou was in Federal custody and would be transported to a U.S. Marshals office in Manhattan.
“She’s a free citizen in the world — it’s a choice she made,” Walker said. “I think the choice she made is certainly bringing more attention to the overall protest.” He added, “We don’t condemn her for the choice she made, and we’re going to do anything we can to support her.”